Washer distributing mechanism



March 9, 1937. A. M. SCHOLZ f WASHER DrsTRIBUTING MECHANISM Filed sept. 4, 1954 4 sheets-sheet i March 9, 1937. A, M, s HOLz 2,073,396

WASHER DI STRIIIITING MECHANI SM Filed Sept. 4, 19,34 4 SheetS-Sheef 2 March 9, 1937. A, M, SCHOLZ 2,073,396

WASHER DI STRIBUTING MECHANISM Filed sept. 4, 1934 4 sheetssheet s e N A Mar-C119, 1937. A, M SCHC-Lz l 2,073,396

WASHER DI STRIBUTING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 4, 1954 4 Sheets-Shee-t 4 Patented Mar. 9, 1937 WASHER DISTRIBUTING MECHANISM Alfred M. Scholz, Trenton, N. J., assigner, by

direct and mesne assignments, to Trent Machine Company, Inc., Trenton, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 4, 1934, Serial No. 742,682 In Great Britain September 8, 1933 19 Claims.

This invention relates to a mechanism for distributing washers upon the pins of rubber heel moulds which act as cores to provide the nail holes in the heels. The invention particularly relates to the type of mechanism disclosed in the patent to Alfred M. Scholz, No. 1,953,778, dated April 3, 1934.

Rubber heels of the usual type are provided on their lower sides with countersinks so that the heads of the securing nails are located in such positions that the heads will not contact with the ground even after considerable wear of the tread surface. To form these countersinks, pins of suitable shape are carried by the bottom members of the rubber heel moulds to act as cores, these pins being cylindrical, conical, hernispherical, or the like depending upon the desired shape of the countersink.

Since the rubber is of limited strength, a nail which could not be torn out would have to be providedv with a head of very large diameter. To avoid this it is customary to mould into the heel at the inner ends of the countersinks metallic washers of substantial outside diameter but provided with central holes of such small size that even a small nail head will fail to pass through. Thus small heads can be used with a consequent small size countersink. These washers which are in general of a dished shape or flat, are, during the moulding, centered on small projections extending centrally upwardly from the coring pins, the washers being located with their concave sides down unless they are flat.

Placing these washers in position by hand is obviously a very tedious and time-consuming operation' since probably ve or more washers must be used for each heel, and because of their small size, the washers are difficult to handle.

40 The machine illustrated in the above mentioned Schloz patent is designed to accomplish the placing of washers upon the mould pins automatically when the machine is drawn transversely across the pins within the mould. The

45 machine of that patent carries a supply of washers in random condition in a hopper and the operation of pulling the machine transversely to the pins effects, automatically, the uniform positioning of the washers with their concave sides 50 downwardly and their location upon the pins.

It is the object of the present invention to improve the mechanism of said patent by providing better support for the mechanism to render it more readily manipulated in the process 55 of placing the washer upon the pins.

Further objects of the invention relate to dctails of the construction whereby improved operation is effected and will be apparent from the following description read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a preferred form of machine constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical section showing the lower end of a feeding finger;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the lower end of the same;

Figure 4 is a plan View of the hopper showing the sorting grooves and other parts;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal section of the hop- Der;

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional detail of central parts of the hopper;

Figure 7 is a transverse section of one of the fingers taken on the plane indicated at 1-1 in Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a bottom plan view of the machine;

Figure 9 is a perspective View showing the base plate of the machine; and

Figure 10 is a fragmentary sectional view with parts of the frame omitted showing the relationship of the driving parts.

The bottom member of a usual type rubber heel mould is illustrated at A. This member carries upwardly projecting pins P `designed to form the countersinks which have been mentioned above. At the tops of these pins are projections Q which are designed to receive the Washers W in position with their concave sides facing down. After the rubber heel is moulded it will be obvious that these washers will be left therein so thattheir concave sides will be in engagement with the securing nails. The pins P in their common arrangement of eight per heel may be considered as arranged in three series, a central series consisting of the front and rear central pins and two side series extending in curves paralleling the sides of the heel. In certain cases where a larger number of holes are provided for the reception of nails the pins may be considered as grouped in four or five series, in which case, as will be obvious hereafter, the number of washer feeding chutes correspond to the number of such series. In the embodiment illustrated herein three chutes are shown which are suflicient for the majority of arrangements in common use.

The improved machine comprises a frame consisting of a base 2 and a standard 4 including a handle by which the machine may be moved by an operator in the direction of the arrow in Figure l. The standard acts as a support for various parts hereafter described. Extending longitudinally within a slot in the base 2 and arranged to project downwardly beneath the base is a guide track 6 provided with a channel 8 designed to engage the upward extremities of the pins of the central series mentioned above. The forward end of this channel is flared as indicated at ID so that there is no difficulty in moving it to engage successive pins as it is drawn along the mould.

In the arrangements illustrated in the patent mentioned above, a guide track is provided which is rigid with the base. The track member 6 in the present improved construction is pivoted to the base by means of a pin 'I carried in a suitable bracket secured to the base and is urged downwardly relative to the base by leaf springs 9 towards an extreme position limited by suitable means indicated at II. As a result of this construction it is found that the mechanism is more readily moved across the pins and that it accommodates itself tothe pins in a superior fashion. The guide track spaces the base 2 from the upper extremities of the pins as indicated in Figure l. The base is additionally supported by wheels IB and by spring members I 'l secured to the underside of the base and bearing upon the bottom of the mould.

Arms I2 pivoted upon a pin I4 carried by the standard 4, provide trunnions at their forward ends for shaft I 9 carrying rubber tired wheels I6. The transverse shaft I 9 may rise and fall and is held normally downward relative to the frame by means of a spring arrangement indicated at I3 so as to maintain contact with the mould face when the machine is in use and transmit rotary motion to the hopper oscillating means as described below. These wheels, furthermore, act to balance the machine to maintain it in a level position.

To the shaft I9 there is secured a gear I5 meshing with a gear I8 journalled upon the transverse shaft I4. The gear I8 in turn meshes with a gear 20 secured toa shaft 22 having a transverse bearing in the standard. The left hand end of this shaft carries a knob 24 whereby the shaft 22 may be rotated when the machine is not being drawn forward in a mould, for example, to preliminarily fill the washer feeding ngers with properly positioned washers. It may be pointed out at this point that the use of the arms I2 for mounting the shaft I9 to which are aflixed the wheels I6 and gear I5 maintains a driving connection irrespective of the relationship of wheels I6 to the frame.

The right hand end of shaft 22 has secured thereto a crank 26 to which is pivoted a link member 28 extended as a pin arranged to slide through lugs 30 and 32 carried by a link 33 pivoted to the hopper 40 at 38. The pin extension of link 28 carries a transverse pin 34 between which, and the lower lug 32, there reacts a compression spring 36. This spring is of such strength that except at one extremity of movement of the hopper the members 28 and 33 act as a unitary link connecting crank 26 with the hopper. The hopper 4U is journalled upon a shaft 42 mounted in adjustable blocks 44 whose positions relative to the standard are determined by screws 43.

The bottom of the hopper is formed, in the present instance, in two parts. The forward one of these designated 46 is secured to or formed integral with the side walls of the hopper and constitutes a part fixed thereto. Formed in the upper surface of this relatively fixed part of the bottom are shallow grooves 48 and 5E] extending, as illustrated in Figure 4, laterally in the same direction as the deflected forward walls of the hopper. These channels 48 and 5E) are so shallow that their boundary walls are approximately of a height just the thickness of the material forming the washers, as can be best seen from Figure 5. Accordingly, if a washer drops into one of these slots with its concave side facing downwardly, it will be substantially held therein, and in its further progress, as the hopper tilts, will move along the slot without falling therefrom. On the other hand if a washer falls into one of the slots with its convex side facing downwardly, its edges will extend upwardly beyond the boundary walls of the slot so that very little effort will be required to dislodge it from the slot since its edges will readily ride over the boundary walls. The central slot which has been specially designated as 50 has a shorter extent than the other two for reasons which will hereafter be brought out. Suitable stop members may be provided if desired in the other slots if necessary to properly take care of considerable differences in supply requirements thereof.

The remainder of the bottom of the hopper, designated 52, is pivoted relatively to the hopper sides on pivot shaft 54 at its rear end. Springs 55 carried by the side walls of the hopper press downwardly against the bottom portion of 52 normally urging it to such a position that the forward ends of springs 58 secured to it, engage within the rearward ends of the slots 48 and 50. These forward ends of the springs 58 are bifurcated as indicated at 60 in Figure 4, being somewhat downturned as indicated in Figure 6, so that in the absence of washers they will engage between the walls of the slots 48 and 5U preventing any washers from getting beneath them. By reason of the bifurcated shape, if, upon tilting the hopper to a position in which it slopes downwardly to the rear, any washers wrongly positioned with concave sides upward, pass to the then lower ends of the slots 48 and 50, they will ride up over the ends of the springs 58 and pass downwardly into the lower end of the hopper.

Threaded through lugs projecting laterally through the side walls of the hopper are adjustable stop screws 3|. The screws 3| are adapted to engage the portion 5 of the standard, thus positively limiting the movement in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1. This positive arrest of the hopper is permitted by the use of the slide and spring link arrangement connecting the hopper with crank 25, which permits the crank toI move past its lower dead center position, while the hopper is at rest. The delay in movement of the hopper, thus provided, is. important, inasmuch as, it affords a short period of time for washers to pass from the hopper to the feeding fingers. As the hopper approaches its limited position, the movable bottom 52 will engage stop screws 54 prior to the engagement of the adjustable screws 3i with the standard at 5. Accordingly, the bottom 52 will be rocked upwardly relatively to the sides of the hopper against the tension of springs 56 which are effectively weaker than the springs 58. By reason of this relative upward movement the bifurcated ends 60 of springs 58 are raised out of the slots 48 and 55 permitting any washers in these slots, all of which will now have their concave sides facing downwardly, to pass vbetween the xed and movable portions of the bottom.

The forward end of the movable bottom portion 52 is provided with projections 66 extending downwardly therefrom and arranged to engage spring 68 which has a desired set. By reason of this arrangement, when the hopper is returned to extreme clockwise position the movable portion 52 of the bottom is again lifted, releasing any washers which might be engaged below the ends 60 of the springs 58.

Grooves 'I4 in movable fingers 'I6 correspond to the slots 48 and 50 and are aligned therewith. Above these grooves there are corresponding slots 12 in the movable portion 52 of the bottom of the hopper. Accordingly, washers discharged from the grooves 48 and 50 may pass freely into the grooves 14.

The Washer guiding fingers, or chutes, l5, carry at their upper ends threaded studs 'i8 extending loosely through openings in body 4. Springs 82 surrounding these studs and reacting against body standard 4 and nuts 80 threaded von the studs serve to normally maintain the fingers and chutes 16 against the supporting surface of the standard. The chutes 'i6 are pro- Vided with inturned side flanges 84, best shown in Figure 7, to provide channels aligning with the passages 12. By reason of this arrangement washers passing from 12 will move downwardly through the guiding channels with their concave surfaces facing downwardly.

It will be noted from the arrangement shown in the drawings that one end of the bottom part 46 of the hopper is disposed somewhat lower than the adjacent end of the bottom part 52 and forms a transverse step or shoulder on the under side of the hopper bottom. This transverse shoulder and the upper ends of the fingers 16 are located with respect to the hinge pin 42 such that when the hopper is oscillated about the shaft 42, the shoulder will move into and out of abutting relation with the upper ends of the fingers.

Beneath the lower ends of the fingers 1S are formed spring wire guiding elements 8B providing between them widely diverging openings designed to receive pins P as will be obvious from Figures 2 and 8. The divergence of the passage between the spring points 86 is such that even considerable lateral misalignment of the pins Will not prevent the fingers I6 from properly moving thereover. By reason of the fact that the passages converge rearwardly the pins act as cams serving to quite definitely and properly align the fingers to discharge the washers upon the pins.

The fingers 16 are out away as indicated at 9a at their rearward ends. The inturned flanges terminate adjacent to the lower ends of the fingers and only side flanges 92 remain as indicated in Figure 3. To prevent the washers from being jarred out of control of the fingers, however, there are provided leaf springs 94 carried by adjustable clips 96 engaging the sides of the fingers 16 and bifurcated at their lower ends as indicated at 98 to engage the upper surfaces of the washers, as illustrated in Figure 3. Small lips 99 serve to yieldingly hold the washers in the position illustrated in Figure 2 prior to their being taken by the pins. It will be noted that the hole in the washer which is presented tobe next taken is at approximately the same vertical height as the extensions Q of the pins P. Inasmuch as the finger is laterally positioned by the pin as indicated above, it will be seen that the extension Q will engage within the opening in the washer and as the machine is moved forwardly the ends 98 of the spring will tilt releasing the washer and permitting it to fall over the extension Q and rest upon `the upper end of the pin proper P. A light wire spring IBI aids in yieldingly holding the washer in proper position. To prevent the washers from snapping off the pins after being positioned thereon, there are provided resilient members |03 carried by clips 96 and engaged to yieldingly hold the pins thereon until after the fingers pass by.

It will be noted from Figure 1 that the central nger IB is deflected somewhat so as to lie at the rear of the side fingers. This central finger is sup-ported upon a rest while the side fingers are supported upon the U-shaped member which carries |90. The reason for this arrangement is to provide freedom of movement of the side fingers inwardly so as, if necessary, to even slightly underlap the central finger in case the side series of pins are close to the central series. Individual springs |04 secured at their upper ends to the standard may be used to control the fingers i6 to normally maintain them in proper positions by engagement within holes in the fingers.

From the above discussion the operation of the machine will be obvious. Washers arev placed at random within the hopper which, as the machine is moved over the pins of the mould, is oscillated from one extreme position to the other. As it moves in a counter-clockwise direction some of the washers will fall into the slots 48 and 50 with their convex sides down. Others will fall into the same slots with their convex sides up. As the hopper moves to a position short of its extreme counterclockwise position those washers which are located in the slots with their concave sides facing downwardly will remain therein. On the other hand, those in the reverse position will fall out of the slots riding over the properly located washers and the sides of the slots and also over the forward ends 50 of the springs 58. As the extreme counterclockwise position is approached, al1 of the improperly located washers together with those that have not engaged the slots at all, will have passed to the lower end of the hopper. When the extreme position is reached an opening of the bottom'of the hopper occurs by the relative raising of the part 52. The properly located washers will then pass into the openings 14, being guided by the grooves 12, and downwardly within the chutes.

On the reverse oscillation in a clockwise direction of the hopper the various washers will be tumbled to the rear of the hopper in random positions. As the extreme position is reached the bottom will again open to liberate any Washers which might possibly have not passed downwardly into the chutes, held by reason of the fact that the chutes are full, or because a washer may have assumed some irregular improper position and have been caught on one of the prongs of the springs S. It will be observed that during their sliding towards the right hand end of thehopper the washersnecessarily traverse grooves 48, 50. The second opening of 52 accordingly ensures that the springs 58 will be clear of any washers and that all of them selected for delivery will be located within the grooves 48 and 50. As reverse oscillation occurs, closure of the bottom of the hopper first takes place and then Aafter a horizontal position is passed the washers again slide to the lowermost portion of the hopper,

now in its counterclockwise position, some of them again falling in proper position within the slots 48 and 50 to be discharged at the extreme position. The purpose of making the forward end of the hopper and the slots on the bias, as shown, is to ensure that a maximum number of Washers will slide over the slots, so that they will become properly lled. As will be obvious, the central series of pins contain a smaller number than the side series. For this reason, it is desirable to make the central slot 50 shorter than the others so that a small number of washers are delivered thereto, this being not only to prevent any possible jamming but also to ensure that when only a small number of washers are in the hopper, the side slots get their proper shares.

It will be obvious that when a chute is full, further discharge of the washers thereinto will not take place, and accordingly they will merely be drawn backwardly and forwardly within the hopper until withdrawal takes place to accommodate others.

As the machine is moved by the handle in the straight line defined by the central series of pins, the side fingers may have restricted convergent and divergent movements to appropriately position washers upon the outer series of the pins. These movements are, of course, controlled as indicated above by the engagement of pins within the converging passages between the points 8S, and are permitted by the mounting of the ngers illustrated, particularly in Figure 6, and their location against the rest H10.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for locating Washers upon pins comprising a frame, at least one finger arranged to conduct washers to pins, and a guide track yieldingly attached to the frame and arranged to engage the tops of pins during movements of the machine.

2. A machine for locating washers upon pins comprising a frame, at least one finger arranged to conduct washers to pins, and a guide track pivoted to the frame and yieldingly urged downwardly to engage the tops of pins during movements of the machine.

3. A machine for locating washers upon pins comprising a frame, at least one n nger arranged to conduct washers to pins, and a guide track yieldingly attached to the frame and arranged to engage the tops of pins during movements of the machine, and side wheels arranged to prevent tilting of the frame.

4. A machine for locating washers upon pins comprising a frame, at least one finger arranged to conduct washers to pins, and a guide track pivoted to the frame and yieldingly urged downwardly to engage the tops of pins during movements of the machine, and side wheels arranged to prevent tilting of the frame.

5. A machine for locating washers upon pins comprising a frame, at least one nger arranged to conduct washers to pins, and a guide track yieldingly attached to the frame and arranged to engage the tops of pins during movements of the machine, and side wheels arranged to prevent tilting of the frame, said guide track being provided with a single pin receiving groove, the remainder of the frame clearing the pins.

6. A machine for locating Washers upon pins comprising a frame, at least one finger arranged to conduct washers to pins, a guide track pivoted to the frame and yieldingly urged downwardly to engage the tops of pins during movements of the machine, and side wheels arranged to prevent tilting of the frame, said guide track being provided with a single pin receiving groove, the remainder of the frame clearing the pins.

7. A machine for locating washers upon pins comprising a frame, at least one finger arranged to conduct washers to pins, and a guide track yieldingly attached to the frame and arranged to engage the tops of pins during movements of the machine, and side wheels arranged to prevent tilting of the frame, said side wheels operating mechanism for delivering washers to said iinger.

8. A machine for locating washers upon pins comprising a frame, at least one finger arranged to conduct washers to pins, and a guide track pivoted to the frame and yieldingly urged downwardly to engage the tops of pins during movements of the machine, and side wheels arranged to prevent tilting of the frame, said side wheels operating mechanism for delivering washers to said finger.

9. A machine for locating Washers upon pins comprising a frame, at least one finger arranged to conduct washers to pins, an oscillating hopper arranged to supply washers to said nger, a longitudinal guide track adapted to receive a row of pins, wheels engageable with a mold plate and arranged to be rotated by movement of the machine, said machine being supported in part by said guide track and in part by said wheels, and connections between the wheels and hopper to oscillate the latter.

10. A machine for locating washers upon pins comprisinga frame, at least one finger arranged to conduct washers to pins, an oscillating hopper arranged to supply washers to said nger, wheels engageable with a mould plate and arranged to be rotated by movement of the machine, and connections between the wheels and hopper to oscillate the latter, said wheels being movable vertically relatively to the frame without disturbance of the hopper driving connections.

ll. A machine for locating washers upon pins comprising a frame, at least one nger arranged to conduct washers to pins, and a guide track yieldingly attached to the frame and arranged to engage the tops of pins during movements of the machine, and side wheels arranged to prevent tilting of the frame, said guide track being provided with a single pin receiving groove, the remainder of the frame clearing the pins, but being supported by spring means.

12. In a machine for locating washers on pins the combination of spaced frame parts having openings therein, bearings in said openings, a hopper adapted to contain a supply of washers and supported for rocking movement by said bearings, and means for adjustably positioning said bearings in said openings.

13. In a machine for locating washers on pins the combination of laterally spaced frame parts having openings therein, bearing blocks in said openings, said blocks being of smaller size than said openings, a hopper adapted to contain a supply of washers and having pivot means extending into said blocks, and means for adjustably positioning said blocks in their openings to thereby position said pivot means.

14. In a machine for locating washers on pins the combination of spaced frame parts having openings therein, bearings in said openings, a hopper adapted to contain a supply of washers and supported for rocking movement by said bearings, said hopper having an opening for dis-i charging washers therefrom, a washer feeding nger having the upper end thereof disposed to receive Washers from the hopper opening, and means for adjustably positioning said bearings to cause the hopper opening to register With the nger.

15. In a machine for locating Washers on pins the combination of a frame, a Washer conducting iinger having a shoulder adjacent its upper end and a groove opening at the shoulder, a hopper adapted to contain a supply of Washers, and means mounting said hopper for oscillating movement, said hopper having a shoulder on the bottom thereof adapted to abut the shoulder of said finger and having a Washer discharge opening for registration With the groove opening of the nger whereby Washers pass directly from the hopper to the finger when such openings are in register.

16. In a machine for locating Washers on pins the combination of a frame, a Washer conducting finger having a shoulder adjacent its upper end and a groove extending through the shoulder, a hopper adapted to contain a supply of washers and having a shoulder on the bottom thereof provided With an opening for discharging Washers, and means mounting said hopper for rocking movement including pivot means in close proximity to said shoulders whereby the latter are movable relatively into substantial abutting relation to register said opening with said groove said Washers passing directly from the hopper to the iinger when said opening is in register with said groove.

17. In a machine for locating Washers on pins the combination of a frame, a Washer conducting finger having a shoulder adjacent its upper end and a groove extending through the shoulder, a hopper adapted to contain a supply of washers and having a shoulder on the bottom thereof provided with an opening for discharging Washers, means mounting said hopper for rocking movement including pivot means and bearing members therefor, and means on said frame for adjustably supporting Said bearing members to locate said pivot means such that said shoulders abut substantially and said opening registers with said groove.

18. In a machine for locating Washers on pins the combination of a frame, a finger for conducting washers to pins, an oscillating hopper arranged to supply Washers to the nger, transverse shaft means having a gear thereon, means for transmitting motion from said gear to oscillate the hopper, and a Wheel engageable with the mould plate and having a driving gear meshing with the rst mentioned gear, said Wheel being carried by an arm pivoted on said transverse shaft means.

19. In a machine for locating Washers on pins the combination of a frame, a iinger for conducting Washers to pins, an oscillating hopper arranged to supply Washers to the nger, and means for oscillating said hopper comprising a crank and a link connecting said hopper andcrank, said link being extensible against the resistance of a spring during passage of said crank over dead center.

ALFRED M. SCHOLZ. 

